PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College women’s soccer team received a big boost when it needed it most from two of its smallest players.
Mired in a 0-0 extra-time tie with the North Idaho Cardinals, and with penalty kicks looming, Myu Ban (5-foot-1) and Ellie Small (5-2) came through for the Pirates in Saturday’s Northwest Athletic Conference quarterfinal match at Wally Sigmar Field.
Ban’s free kick from the left side of the 18-yard box hit the goal post and deflected off a Cardinals defender back up and off the crossbar and on to Small, who sent the ball into the net in the 106th minute.
The sudden-death shot sends the Pirates sailing on to their fifth straight NWAC Final Four appearance.
Peninsula (20-1-0), the North Division champion, advances to face former West Division rival Highline (16-3-1) in the NWAC semifinals at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“I have full trust in Myu, so I knew she was going to put it in a good spot for us to get on to,” Small said after Saturday’s victory.
“I thought it was in, but it hit the inside of the post, bounced up off one of their girls, hit the crossbar and came right down and hit the [goal] line. And once it hit the line I’m like, ‘Crap.’ So I flung my whole body onto it and I put it in. Made sure to put it in.”
Getting anything going offensively was problematic for both teams for different reasons during the intense, tightly contested match played on a cold, rainy day at Wally Sigmar Field.
Peninsula dominated possession against North Idaho, earning 13 corner kicks and a variety of free kick opportunities, but couldn’t crack the Cardinals’ defense until the game-winner.
The Pirates, the NWAC’s highest-scoring team with 85 goals coming into the game, showed plenty of skill with creative crosses and well-timed passes, they just couldn’t connect against a defense that kept a consistent back line.
North Idaho managed just one corner kick and a handful of free kicks, looking content to play with a decided defensive focus.
“NIC was tough, they were strong and they won the ball,” Peninsula coach Kanyon Anderson said.
“They had a pretty defensive game plan and stuck with it.
“I felt like it was a matter of, ‘Are we going to get one [a goal]?’ It almost felt like they were playing for penalty kicks. I don’t know if that is true, but it kind of seemed that way.”
Small felt her squad was a little rattled by the importance of the contest, the awful conditions and the North Idaho game plan.
“I think we had a lot of nerves, a lot of anxiety,” Small said.
“There was so much riding on the game, and the weather was kind of [crappy].
“I give a lot of credit to them, they defended us hard and played us super well.”
Anderson, the only coach the Pirate women have ever had in the team’s six-year history, has made his share of playoff runs and realizes they never come easily.
“Some games are going to go smoothly, but if you want to win the whole thing you have to know how to win a variety of games,” Anderson said.
“And no team, in all the years I’ve seen, has had just a walk through the park to the finals.
“Whether you are put through a difficult game in the quarterfinal, or the semifinal, or the final, they are coming. So if we run into another similar game, we know we can play 110 minutes.”
When North Idaho did build up its offensive attack, Peninsula’s defensive backfield of Tori Hagen, Cierra Hamilton, Karen Corral and Kai Mahuka were quick to recover, they didn’t allow Cardinals’ forwards to get around them and headed and cleared the ball away from danger.
“I thought we were really strong,” Anderson said of the defense.
“In all of that, I don’t know if we ever gave them a really good look at the goal. They took a couple of chances and threw a few balls into the box but [goalkeeper] Manaia [Siania-Unutoa] caught everything, we cleared everything, and I think we only allowed one corner kick all game long.”
The Pirates return to the NWAC Final Four for the fifth time.
A win Saturday would advance them to their fifth straight NWAC championship game. They won titles in 2012 and 2013.
________
Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
